


Hydrophobia

by NoirAngel011



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Bonding, Catra Learns To Doggy Paddle, Clearing The Air (kinda), Domestic Princess Alliance, F/F, F/M, Mermaid- Freeform, Name-Calling (Platonic), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Post-War, Swimming, Trauma Bonding, War Trauma, almost panic attack, fluff and a little bit of angst, hydrophobia, swimming lessons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-25 06:20:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30084783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoirAngel011/pseuds/NoirAngel011
Summary: When the Princess Alliance and co have a beach day, Catra doesn’t get in the water. Mermista notices and takes it upon herself to find the root of the problem. Trauma bonding, regular old bonding, and swimming lessons ensue.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Catra & Mermista (She-Ra), Mermista/Sea Hawk (She-Ra)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 69





	Hydrophobia

It was a sunny day in Salineas, almost a year after the war. The city was being rebuilt and the beaches were fairly empty, surprisingly. 

Mermista broke the surface of the water, pushing her hair out of her eyes. She looked across the waves of the ocean and spotted all her friends hanging out and having a good time. She dove back into the water and swam along the bottom of the ocean until she came to Sea Hawk. She let her tail brush against his leg and watched as he jumped away from her. She could make out his muffled scream from under the water. 

“It’s just me,” she said, giggling as she came up out of the water.

He smiled at her. “Don’t do that to anyone else, Adora might punch you.” He tapped Mermista’s nose gently. She laughed and moved closer to him.

“I wouldn’t dare.” Mermista sunk back down under the water and a few moments later Adora’s shriek rang out through the area they were swimming in. Mermista ducked away just in time before she could be kicked.

“What was that?!” Adora shouted, freaked out.

“Just Mermista being Mermista!” Catra called from the shore, apparently having picked up on Mermista and Sea Hawk’s conversation. Adora looked over her shoulder and smiled at her girlfriend.

“You coming in?!” she asked. Catra shook her head. 

“Maybe in a little bit!” Adora frowned but went back to playing catch with a beach ball and the rest of the group.

Half an hour later and Mermista found herself sitting on the shore right where the waves crashed into the beach. She looked behind her and realized that Catra had never made it into the water. She stood up and walked over to her, shaking the water out of her messy curls. She sat down in the sand next to where Catra was sitting on a beach chair.

“Not going in the water today?” she asked. Catra shook her head.

“Nope.”

Mermista looked between Catra and the ocean. “Why not?” she asked.

“I don’t like water,” Catra said quietly. “It’s a cat thing.” Catra was looking down at her knees that were pulled up to her chest. She was wearing shorts and a bikini top. Mermista studied her for a minute.

“Come on, I want to show you something.” Mermista stood up and held a hand out to Catra. Catra looked up, confused.

“What?”

“You’ll see.” Catra took Mermista’s hand and let her lead her off the beach. They walked towards the castle silently. Mermista took her through a side entrance and unlocked a gate leading up to a flight of stairs. They made their way up the stairs and came to a large pool deck.

“What’s this?” Catra asked.

“My private pool. But that’s not the cool thing.” She walked over to the side of it and sat down at the edge. Catra hesitantly followed her.

“Woah,” Catra marveled as she looked at the bottom of the pool. The pool deck was positioned above a very large saltwater fish tank. The bottom of the pool was clear and Catra could see all the fish swimming around below them and the coral way down at the bottom.

“Pretty right?” Mermista asked, kicking her legs slowly in the water. Catra still didn’t touch the water but watched the fish with wide eyes. She nodded. “Wanna get in now?” Catra bit her lip.

“I don’t know…” she mumbled.

Mermista watched her breathing quicken as the water splashed against the side of the pool from her feet kicking in the water. “Oh, sorry,” she said, stilling her legs. “Are you afraid of the water?” Mermista asked after a few moments of silence.

“Yes,” Catra whispered and Mermista let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She chewed on her bottom lip. 

“It’s because of me, isn’t it?” Mermista couldn’t look at Catra as she asked. Catra’s head swiveled to look at the princess, utterly confused. She watched as Mermista brought a hand up to the back of her neck and pressed against the scar there, her hair almost hiding it but not entirely.

“Oh, no, not at all. Mermista I-”

“No! I attacked you! I used something you already didn’t like against you and now you’re afraid of fucking water! You’re afraid of my powers! You’re afraid… of me.” Mermista looked up in realization. 

Catra couldn’t remember the last time she had seen a look so intense on Mermista. Deep brown eyes stared at her, tears filling them slowly as she tried to hold them back. 

“Mermista, no, it wasn’t you. That wasn’t you.” Catra reached out for the hand that was resting on Mermista’s lap. Mermista jerked away from her in response.

“All I do is destroy things!” Mermista turned away so Catra could no longer see her face.

Catra was quiet for a minute. She didn’t know how to respond. She looked back down at the water and slowly, carefully, dipped her legs in.

The water was cool but the sun warmed it just enough. It didn’t splash or move around too much. It felt weird on her fur but she took a deep breath. It wasn’t going to hurt her. It didn’t have a mind of its own. The only thing that could control it was sitting next to her, eyes glistening with unshed tears from guilt. 

“Mermista, I’m not afraid because of you. It’s just a cat thing,” Catra reached out and this time put her hand on Mermista’s shoulder. Mermista tensed under her touch before relaxing a little bit. She took her hand off her neck. “Don’t feel bad for what you did. Perfuma says that we just have to move on and realize that it wasn’t us.”

Catra was never the therapist type. She wasn’t good at comforting people, especially not someone like Mermista who rarely let anyone see what she didn’t want them to see. Catra began to realize just how much Mermista had been affected by the war as she watched her blink away her tears.

“I-I know, I just, I hurt so many people. I destroyed people’s homes and even  _ killed  _ a few. I’m a princess, I’m supposed to be the example, but instead, I ruined people’s lives. And somehow they still let me rule. They still let me guide them. I don’t understand.” Mermista stared at the water.

“Because you’re a good person, Mermista. You always try your best and you’re super smart and they love you for that. You did bad things against your own will. Not like me. I chose to do the awful things I did.”

Mermista sighed and wiped at her eyes. Catra moved her hand off Mermista’s shoulder.

“I don’t think I can get over all my issues in a day, but I can try to help you get over your fear of water. Do you know how to swim?”

Catra glanced at the water and shook her head, biting her lip. Mermista smiled.

“Okay then.” She slipped off the edge of the pool and into it fully. The water came up to her elbows where she was standing and Catra knew that it would be a lot higher on her. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Catra looked at Mermista, then at the water that was moving back and forth softly.

“Please don’t splash me?”

“I’m not even going to use my powers,” Mermista responded. Catra reached out and pressed her hand to the surface of the water. It felt soft to the touch. Slowly, she worked up the courage and jumped off the side of the pool and into the water.

Immediately, she began to kick her legs and flail her arms around when her feet didn’t find the floor of the pool. She looked down at not being able to see the bottom because of the clear glass didn’t help at all.

“Hey, hey, I’ve got you,” Mermista said gently, grabbing Catra and holding her until she was still. Catra moved closer to the water princess, not hesitating to wrap her arms around her neck and cling to her for dear life. Mermista smiled and leaned back against the wall to wait until her breathing had returned to regular. “It’s okay, I’m not going to let you drown. You’re safe,” she assured Catra. "Just take deep breaths, it's okay."

Catra let out a shaky breath and retracted her claws so they wouldn’t hurt Mermista. She slipped out of Mermista’s arms and calmly found the floor of the poor.

“Sorry,” she coughed.

“It’s okay, it’s not a big deal. Wanna go where it’s more shallow?”

“Yes please,” Catra said thankfully. Mermista took her hand and led her to the shallow end of the pool.

It was mid-afternoon now as Mermista taught Catra how to swim. Catra was terrified to go underwater, so Mermista showed her how to doggy-paddle and keep herself afloat instead. 

“This is ironic,” Catra said as she kicked her legs and moved her arms to keep her head above the water just like Mermista had shown her.

Mermista giggled. 

“You know, I’ve never actually seen a mermaid up close,” Catra told her. Mermista’s eyes lit up.

“You wanna see one?!” Catra smiled and nodded sheepishly. Mermista jumped and dove back down into the water, careful not to splash too much. Catra’s eyes widened as Mermista’s legs disappeared and her tail replaced them instantaneously. 

In the clear water, she could see Mermista without having to go underneath. Mermista swam along the bottom of the pool and the fish underneath her raced beside her. When she came back up to the surface, Catra was beaming.

“Is it harder to swim with a tail?” she asked. Mermista shook her head.

“Not really. Just kinda different. I’ve been swimming like this since I was four though, so maybe it is harder and I just don’t notice.”

“Sometimes I wish I wasn’t part cat. I do a lot of things that people make fun of me for. I wish I could turn it on and off like you can.” Catra sighed, looking down at the water. She didn’t know why she was admitting this, but there was something about Mermista that just made her feel safe. Like she could let her guard down. 

Mermista frowned and swam over to Catra. They leaned up against the pool wall. Mermista looked down at her tail in the water. 

“Nobody’s going to make fun of you anymore. Only I get to do that.” There was an edge of sarcasm to her voice in the second sentence and Catra smiled.

“I’m alright with that, Sea Scum,” she jabbed, taking a page out of Glimmer’s book.

“You better be, Scaredy Cat.”


End file.
